Niznhy Novgorod

Niznhy Novgorod

Located on the confluence of two rivers, Niznhy Novgorod was the center of military industrial production of Russia. Tanks rolled out of factories and submarines slid out of drydocks into the vast Volga river. Now, Niznhy Novgorod is home to the largest car factory in Russia. Its strategic location along the Volga, the largest river in the European area, has enabled its economic development.

We arrived in Niznhy around 11pm and set out for the hostel. However, we were soon encountered dark streets and alleys, so we quickly decided to retreat into the internationally known network of safe havens and free toilets : McDonalds. In Russia, Big Maks cost 52 rubles, almost exactly 2 USD (in Latvia they cost 1.39 lats, which is roughly 2.7 USD). We stayed there till most of the staff had left, finally leaving at 130am, one and a half hours after closing time. We went into the railway station waiting room and took turns staying awake. I got a small scare when two policemen appeared in the middle of the night during Andrew's watch and put my camera bag behind them. In my tiredness, I must have foolishly removed my bag instead of wearing it as I usually do. After they were done disturbing us, we were left alone till the morning when we received a little more harassment, so we left and waited outside. We were waiting for our host in Niznhy, Darya, to return from a trip. Finally, at 6:30am we were relieved to see a friendly couple introduce themselves to us. We went back to their place, washed up and slept till 3pm! =) It wasn't all laziness since Darya had work till 3pm and so we were kinda waiting for her, but we had a very good rest nonetheless.

Darya is a Spanish teacher at the local university and gives private lessons as well. She has lived in Niznhy with her husband, Dima (sp?), for 5+ years. Dima is a specialist worker and does jobs that requires hanging off walls and other sorts of jobs that involve heights.

We headed out into the city sans our heavy backpacks and took a tram to the train station. The station was on the other side of the river from Darya's flat and the city center, so we had to cross the singular bridge to get there. The road wound down the hillside towards the river before crossing the bridge. We were treated to a very beautiful view of the river and the city in the evening light. (note : if you've noticed me saying 'beautiful evening light' a lot in my blog, its because in Russia during the summer, the 'golden light' of evening lasts for a very very long time...thus allowing very enjoyable sightseeing.)

After getting our tickets to our next destination, Darya took us for a sightseeing walk around the city.
She brought us to where Dima was working on the roof of a shopping centre next to the railway station and we were once again treated to a view from a roof. Also, from the bridge, we saw an interesting feature of Niznhy; a large cathedral shining in the sun, beautiful and grand beside the river. But it is nestled among the docks, with loading cranes hanging over the river, none of which are higher than the cathedral spires.

We walked down historical streets that used to be populated by rich traders and nobles and walked up hills to look out over the city and the valley formed by the river. Unlike the flatness of St. Petersburg, Niznhy was a city built on the slopes of the riverbank. We saw another contrast in an ugly apartment building that was built in Soviet times right behind a historical church. As Darya said, Niznhy Novgorod is a city full of contrasts. We crossed over a long, straight pedestrian that straddled a valley where a tributary once flowed, where we were treated to another view of Niznhy.

As the evening slowly became darker, we headed over to a club where we were hoping to catch some live music. When we arrived there, we found that they had raised the cover price, so we decided to pop over to the well-placed supermarket next door and got some bread, food and beer. We enjoyed our dinner outside the club, listening to the music for free. =) Darya also introduced us to a new staple food for travel : smoked cheese. This tasty, salty snack comes in stickes on strands and as a chewy, rubbery texture. The salty taste goes well with bread and/or beer. Yums!

Later we did more walking around the city and watched some street performers who were Darya's friends. They were quite good, in fact. We saw a grand, imposing building that was built to commemorate the czars in the early 20th century, but the czar dynasty collapsed three years later. The building was built to house a bank and still serves that purpose today. The windows allow a peek into the classy appointments and chandeliers within. Night soon fell and we returned home.

The next day, we departed with Darya and parted ways at the door of the Kremlin. She went off to a meeting, leaving us to wander the city centre on our own. We quickly finished looking around the Kremlin and settled down on benches overlooking the river and enjoyed the warm breeze. The Kremlin was built at the top of the valley of the river, allowing an amazing view of the river and the flats beyond.
There was a water truck that sprayed water on the pedestrian walkway. We couldn't decide if the water was to cool the ground down or to wash the ground.

We then spent more time at a nearby cafe which overlooked the Volga. We relaxed there was quite some time and waited for Darya to come and get us. When she finally got out of her meeting, she came and took us to a Uzbek restaurant where we had two things : a triangular pastry filled with meat and potatoes and a soup made of kvas. The pastry was tasty and good. The soup was not so much. The kvas base made it sweet and there was spring onions and other salty items in it, making the soup a rather unpleasant mix of sweet and salty.

We soon left the restaurant, headed back home and took a rest. Our train was that evening, so we soon packed up and headed for the train station, ready to head to our next destination.

Darya was really knowledgable about the city and told us many things that we wouldn't have found out ourselves, including a little bit of urban lore about drawings of a cosmonaut scattered throughout Russia, including Niznhy. Darya and Dima's hospitality in their city and their home was very pleasant. Thanks so much Darya and Dima!

Next Stop : Kazan!

-ky